Beijing, which already has the world’s second-busiest airport, is getting the first flights today at its new second airport Beijing Daxing (PKX), whose expected numbers could put it in the top ten in a couple of years.
The new airport is designed with a shape resembling a starfish that places all the gates no more than 650 yards from security to gate, a feature likely to make it popular with travelers, especially those who’ve experienced the world’s-longest distance-to-gate runs at Istanbul’s new airport. There are four main runways.
Daxing expects to hit 72 million passengers per year within its first few years, but not to take any away from the existing Beijing Capital airport, whose 100 million passengers last year were second only to Atlanta. Although a number of airlines, especially Sky Team members, will shift to the new field, others will operate from both, and with China’s domestic and international air traffic growing, both will be needed.
